Sat Jul 31 2010
by Devan Matthews
Correspondent
The inability to hit free throws consistently has plagued the Nordonia boys basketball team as of late, and the Knights dropped another pair of contests recently.
Nordonia fell to Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division foe North Royalton by the score of 51-47 on the road Feb. 16. Then the Knights suffered a 56-53 defeat at the hands of division rival Mayfield Feb. 19.
According to Nordonia head coach Matt Cash, the Knights' inability to find the bottom of the net at the charity stripe has been a major problem for them.
"Foul shooting has been the No. 1 difference," said Cash. "It's been that way for the last several games."
In the North Royalton contest, the Bears made 15-of-18 of their attempts at the foul line (83 percent). Not only did Nordonia not make it to the line very often, the Knights only cashed in slightly more than half the time. Nordonia was 4-of-7 at the free throw line (57 percent).
"We've just been too inconsistent," said Cash. "We've under 50 percent for the season, and that's been the difference in these ballgames."
Senior guard Desmond Coggins paced the Knights offensively, scoring 11 points and pulling down three rebounds. In addition, junior guard Brandyn Clark tallied 10 points and dished out four assists and junior center Zach Lewis contributed seven markers.
Nordonia made just 45 percent of its free throw attempts against Mayfield. The Knights and the Wildcats accounted for the same number of field goals, and Nordonia even knocked down one more three-pointer.
However, Mayfield was 11-of-12 at the foul line (92 percent). The Knights, meanwhile, were only 5-of-11 (45 percent).
Once again, two players reached double digits in scoring for Nordonia. Junior forward Nick Robertson led the way with a double-double, producing 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Clark totaled 16 points. Sophomore guard Jarred Ruffin added nine markers.
With those two losses, Nordonia now sports an overall record of 5-14. The Knights are also 3-6 in league play.
"In eight games, we've had the lead at halftime or at the end of the third quarter, and somehow we lost in overtime or right at the end of regulation," said Cash.
The Knights will play their final game of the regular season Feb. 26 against division nemesis Normandy at home. It will be Senior Night for Nordonia.
According to Cash, the Knights have been steadily improving in every aspect of their game -- except free-throw shooting.
"We've cut down on our turnovers," he said. "During the last four games, we've only averaged seven turnovers. Our field goal shooting percentage has also gone up. We shoot 150 free throws a day. We make them in practice, but then we tense up in games. That's the difference."
The Division I district tournament draw also took place recently at Copley High School. As a result of that draw, the Knights will open the playoffs against Firestone March 1.
Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m.
E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113
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